Deepika Padukone has seemingly broken her silence over the controversy surrounding her exit from 'Spirit'. The actor has not issued a statement addressing the claims made by Pranay Reddy Vanga, brother of director Sandeep Reddy Vanga, but she has reacted to a social media post criticising the filmmakers' comments.
Deepika reportedly 'liked' an Instagram post by journalist Janvi Manchanda that questioned the criticism directed at her over her reported demands for the Prabhas-starrer.
Deepika likes post defending her demands
The post alleged that Deepika had sought 10% of the profits from 'Spirit' and argued that such negotiations were not unusual in the entertainment industry.
“Deepika Padukone allegedly wanted 10% of Spirit’s profits. Judging by the meltdown, you’d think she asked for the entire film and Vanga estate."
The post also pointed to what it described as different standards for male and female actors when negotiating professional terms.
“Sounds like we have a full-blown male-ego crisis on our hands. A woman rejected a deal, and misogyny couldn’t handle a woman’s ‘no’."
It further argued that male stars have negotiated profit shares and working conditions for years, while women can be labelled “difficult” for making similar demands.
“This isn’t about ‘professionalism’. It’s misogyny, it’s sexism. It’s male ego. She said no. Get over it, boys," the post concluded.
What Pranay Reddy Vanga said
Pranay Reddy Vanga, who is also a producer on 'Spirit', recently discussed Deepika's departure during an interview with NTV Telugu.
“The reason is the same as what was already mentioned. One was remuneration, the second was timing. Apart from that, there are some other reasons too. I don’t remember on the top of my head right now, but there were multiple things. It was Sandeep’s call.”
He claimed that remuneration was one of the major points of disagreement.
“She demanded 10 per cent from the film’s profit. Soon after, everything went overboard. See, she can ask for anything. If we are willing to give, we can give. But the economics (budget) should also work out for us. We thought that it was not working. This is why we thought of other options.”
Pranay also alleged that information about the project was leaked after the team began considering alternatives.
“Once we started looking for other options, they started leaking everything… We discussed the story and character with her. Things discussed internally should not be revealed, but she leaked all of them. That is why we are disturbed.”
Deepika has not publicly responded to the allegation about the alleged leak.